Amazon’s $39 Fire TV Stick Has Impressive Specs

The Amazon Fire TV Stick is the bargain version of Amazon's $99 Fire TV that is a competitor to the $109 Apple TV. Streaming to TV devices are hot right now as all the big tech companies are out with these little gizmos in an attempt to loosen the stranglehold the big Cable TV giants (i.e. Comcast in the US and Shaw in Canada) have on what we watch on TV and how much we pay and that’s a good thing.

Amazon’s $39 Fire TV Stick

The problem for most of us is that there’s now an almost bewildering variety of choices.  It’s almost becoming like searching for the best printer or smartphone.  For me, I’ve looked at a lot of these devices and tried most of them too. My recent foray into the world of Microsoft’s new Wireless Display Adapter left me scratching my head in dismay and I returned it. I have both the Apple TV ($109) and Chromecast ($35) and I much prefer the Apple TV for performance and simplicity of use.

At first glance, and maybe even second, Amazon’s Fire TV Stick is pretty darned impressive as it comes with its own remote, a dual-core processor with 6x the processing power of Roku’s Streaming Stick, a dedicated VideoCore4 GPU, and 8GB of storage—4x that of Chromecast and 32x that of Roku Streaming Stick.This TV Stick has the same on-screen interface as the Fire TV and it’s pre-registered to the user’s Amazon account upon arrival which streamlines the setup process.

So, what’s wrong with it?  Well, nothing really except it’s just half of the $99 Fire TV – which makes sense as it’s half the cost. The Fire Stick remote looks to have a more plastic look and unlike the Fire TV remote does not support Voice Search – that apparently works well on Fire TV.  You can buy the better remote for $30 but then you’re up to $70 so why not just bite the bullet and buy the real thing?  Google only offers the Chromecast and not a more expensive, deluxe version like Amazon. That’s smart I think.

The bottom line here appears to be that when considering the Amazon Fire Stick TV to Google’s Chromecast, one of the deciding factors might be whether or not you’re an Amazon junkie. The system is connected with your Amazon account, so even if something isn't included on Prime Instant Video, you can just click and pay to watch a movie.  It's comfortable and easy TV-watching. You don't have to think too much and that’s always a good thing.

For my way of thinking though, I like what Apple and Google  have done – they offer only 1 device for streaming to TV.  There are no cheaper versions just one version. The Apple TV at $109 is the “full meal deal” while Google Chromecast ($35) comes with a “small fries and small coke” but if that’s all you want then it’s perfect. I don’t like it when tech companies sell a cheaper, less functional version of their best product. That’s why I’m happy with both my Apple TV and Chromecast!

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